Embossing systems may be used to emboss markings into marker plates typically made of metal. One such embossing system is the PANDUIT® PES197 portable embossing system. This embossing system uses a loading device to load stacked marker plates, one at a time, to a delivery device which sequentially delivers each marker plate of the stack to an embossing device. The loading device comprises opposed frame and gate members which hold the stacked marker plates between the frame members. A plate weight is disposed on top of the stacked marker plates. A marker plate moving member moves one marker plate at a time out of the bottom of the stack onto a base-surface disposed adjacent to the gate members. Occasionally, the marker plate moving member may misfeed resulting in more than one marker plate being pushed out of the stack onto the base-surface, or marker plates becoming stuck between the gate members and the base-surface. This may result in the embossing system having to be stopped to reset the loading device. Additionally, on occasion, the frame members and gate members may be bumped out of alignment due to excessive vibration in the embossing system, or due to the loading of marker plates into the loading device. This may cause one or more of the following: marker plates scraping against the frame members and gate members; marker plates becoming lodged between the gate members; more than one marker plate being pushed out of the stack onto the base-surface; and marker plates becoming stuck between the gate members and the base-surface.
After each sequential marker plate is embossed by the embossing device, the delivery device drops each sequential embossed marker plate, one at a time, into a chute located within the housing of the embossing system. The chute drops each sequential embossed marker plate, one at a time, into a hopper located outside of the embossing system. The embossed marker plates are gathered one at a time in the hopper to form a stacked arrangement in the hopper. It is desirable for the stacked arrangement of embossed marker plates within the hopper to be identical to the stacked arrangement of marker plates within the loading device prior to the marker plates having been embossed. However, on occasion, as an embossed marker plate drops into the chute or into the hopper, the embossed marker plate may hit the bottom surface of the chute or the hopper at a speed or orientation which causes the embossed marker plate to flip over. This may undesirably result in the stacked arrangement of embossed marker plates in the hopper varying from the stacked arrangement of the marker plates in the loading device prior to being embossed.
When inserts are installed in the chute and the hopper, the chute and the hopper may accommodate marker plates having a width of 0.95 centimeters (0.37 inches). When inserts are not installed in the chute and the hopper, the chute and the hopper may accommodate marker plates having a width of 1.905 centimeters (0.75 inches). The chute and the hopper are not able to accommodate marker plates having any other widths.
As the embossed stacked marker plates are removed from the hopper, on occasion, the embossed stacked marker plates may fall out of their stacked arrangement. This is undesirable.
Improvements in the embossing system are needed to reduce or eliminate one or more of the identified issues.